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These Vegan Ginger Cookies are soft, chewy, and highly addictive! Made with almond flour, they are naturally gluten-free and higher in protein, to help leave you feeling satisfied. No eggs required!
Why You’ll Love Them
These Almond Flour Ginger Cookies are:
- Prepped in 1 bowl
- Naturally sweet
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
- Ultra-flavorful
- Require only 1 variety of flour
- and they’re ready to eat in less than 30 minutes!
This recipe is super-simple, calling for only 7 ingredients. If you can’t find almond flour at the store, you can make homemade almond flour as an alternative.
Blanched Almond Flour vs. Almond Meal
If you’re not familiar with the two varieties of almond flour, blanched almond flour is made from almonds that are blanched first (so their skin is removed) and then they are finely ground. Almond meal is made from whole almonds, with their skins, so you’ll see flecks of brown in the flour.
I typically use blanched almond flour when making cookies, as it tends to provide crispier edges and more consistent results, but you can use almond meal if that’s all you have on hand. Almond meal usually makes softer, more cake-like cookies, if you’re okay with that. (I think it should be fine in this case!)
Are Vegan Cookies Healthier?
Just because a recipe is vegan, doesn’t mean it will always be healthier. Many still call for refined flour and sugar. (Not all white sugar is vegan FYI, but organic cane sugar is.)
In this case we’re using more wholesome ingredients to help you feel satisfied, without the drastic sugar spikes. Almond flour adds satiating fats and protein, and maple syrup is a natural sweetener that’s lower on the glycemic index when compared to white sugar.
Benefits of Molasses
Blackstrap molasses helps to give ginger cookies their signature flavor, along with ginger of course, and this dark syrup has some potential benefits!
Here’s why you’ll love it:
- It contains important vitamins and minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium and vitamin B6.
- Just 1 tablespoon of molasses has 8% of the daily value for calcium, and 10% of the daily value for magnesium. Magnesium deficiency may contribute to osteoporosis, so getting sufficient amounts may help to promote bone health.
- It’s also a good source of potassium, with 1 tablespoon having a similar amount to half of a banana.
If you don’t have molasses on hand, these cookies will still have a nice ginger flavor, but the molasses really takes them over the top!
How to Make Them
This recipe is made in 1 bowl, with just about 10 minutes of effort. Mix together the dough until it’s sticky, with no visible clumps.
Scoop the dough using a tablespoon, then roll it between your hands to form a ball.
I like to roll the balls in coconut sugar, for an extra-pretty presentation, but you can skip that if you want to.
These cookies will not flatten out much on their own, so be sure to use your fingers to flatten them out on the pan.
I like mine to be about 1/2-inch thick, and about 3 inches wide. They aren’t huge cookies, but they’re packed with flavor.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, then let these cookies cool completely on the pan. They will feel very soft and fragile when they are warm, but will firm up as they cool.
This recipe makes roughly 12 cookies, so be sure to double or triple it as needed. They won’t last long!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 Tablespoon blackstrap molasses
- 2 to 3 tablespoons coconut sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the almond flour, ginger, salt and baking soda and mix well. Then add in the coconut oil, maple syrup, and molasses, and mix until a thick batter is formed.
- Scoop the batter by rounded tablespoons, then roll it between your hands to form a ball. Roll the balls in coconut sugar, if desired.
- Arrange the balls on the prepared baking sheet, and flatten them to be roughly 1/2-inch thick. They will not spread much more once you bake them. Bake until the cookies lightly puff up, about 10 to 12 minutes.
- The cookies will be very soft and fragile when you remove them from the oven. Let them cool completely, then serve at room temperature. Leftovers can be stored on the counter for up to 3 days (don't put them in an airtight container or they will get soft), or you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge to keep them for up to 2 weeks. (They can also be frozen for up to 3 months, if you want to make a larger batch.)
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Calories per cookie: 123, Fat: 9g, Carbohydrates: 8g, Fiber: 1g, Protein: 2g
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite type of holiday cookie? Ginger cookies are definitely my #1, but peanut butter balls and frosted sugar cookies are not far behind!
Will date syrup work instead of maple syrup?
In my experience date syrup isn’t as sweet as maple syrup, so I’m not sure the cookies will taste the same with that swap. But feel free to experiment with it!
Ok great, thank you! 🙂
I’ve made these 3 times now! They never disappoint! I’ve always been a big ginger snap fan but had to give them up being intolerant to wheat. I’m really glad I found your recipe!
sounds delicious! can i use olive oil instead of the coconut oil? thank you!
I used honey instead and a splash of almond extract. It turned out really delicious. Made it the night before a day hike. It will be a wonderful treat!
These cookies are delicious and so easy to make. Mine spread out a bit maybe because I didn’t have any molasses so I just left it out. They were soft and yummy when warm and chewy and amazing when cold. I made them a few hours ago and they are all gone. Lucky they are super healthy! For sure making these again.
Great cookies and helpful information. Had to make some substitutions based on what I had on hand. Used butter (1/4 C) instead of coconut oil. Used pumpkin pie spice instead of just ground ginger, and added some cinnamon. Used an equivalent amount of dark brown sugar instead of molasses. Subs worked, the cookies were tasty, and I really appreciated having your basic recipe to work with. Thanks!!
WHEN YOU SAY GROUND GINGER, DO YOU MEAN GROUND FRESH GINGER OR DRIED GROUND GINGER? THANKS FOR YOUR HELP.
The dried kind!
Can you use coconut flour or 1:1 Gluten-free flour for this recipe? Thank you!
Those types of flour work very differently than almond flour, so I’d start with a recipe that calls for all-purpose flour if you want to use the GF blend. Coconut flour is insanely tricky, and I only have 1 cookie recipe that calls for it here on my website because it turns out more like mini muffins, rather than cookies.
By far my favorite ginger cookie recipe EVER! I haven’t made them in ages and needed cookies for a Friendsgiving party, these popped into my head and I’m so happy I rediscovered the recipe.
I don’t see the instructions of what to do with the coconut sugar. Is that just an ingredient to mix in? Thank you!